#030
I didn’t accidentally say I’d make one for him. Because I really had no intention of selling even a single flower stem to Yeo Dongju.
“I’ll come again later. See you again.”
Don’t come! Don’t come! Please don’t come again! I glared with eyes hidden behind sunglasses while screaming silently. But Yeo Dongju waved his hand in the air as if such things didn’t matter to him at all. Then he turned his back while wearing the smile he’d shown at our first meeting. As he pushed the entrance door, Yeo Dongju didn’t forget to glance back and swept his gaze over me and Hajoon standing side by side. Ugh, I hate it. I really hate it.
Ding-a-ling, the clear wind chime sound that didn’t suit Yeo Dongju at all rang out. In the space where Yeo Dongju had disappeared, only the occasional breathing sounds of me and Hajoon could be heard.
“Ranho-ssi.”
“…Yes.”
“That’s strange. Right? I feel like I got tangled up….”
“……”
“Maybe it’s because he’s older.”
Maybe it’s just because you’re an idiot. I couldn’t bring myself to tell Hajoon my honest feelings and averted my gaze.
Come to think of it, now that the tension was released, my back hurt. To think the part I’d hurt because of Hajoon got hit by the corner again. I moved my hand behind me and gently rubbed above my tailbone while opening my mouth.
“But what brings you here? So early like this.”
“Ah, ah, just. It’s been a while since we saw each other.”
“It’s not like we were the type to see each other regularly.”
When I made a fist and tapped around my lower back, Hajoon covered his cheeks with his palms and smiled shyly as if embarrassed. Why is he acting like that, really? So burdensome.
“That, your back, does it still hurt?”
“Of course it hurts. I just hit it on the corner again. That person grabbed me and that happened, but he didn’t even apologize—”
“Where did you hit?! Your back?!”
Ah, shit. What a surprise. Hajoon’s voice got higher and louder. He immediately reached out and stroked around from near my tailbone up about a hand’s width, unable to hide his worried expression as he muttered about hospital, hospital. Ah, that reaction has been bothering me for a while now.
“…I’m fine. I was planning to go to the hospital today.”
“You’re going today? When was ‘that time’ that you haven’t gone until now and are just going now.”
“I didn’t have time to go, anyway. It’s gotten somewhat better than back then.”
At my words that it had gotten better, Hajoon seemed relieved and relaxed his expression, then blushed again while still unable to make eye contact with me. So, I really don’t understand why he’s acting like that.
“Hajoon-ssi.”
“Yes.”
“Please move your hand.”
Hajoon, who had been covering my back with his palm and pressing along my spine as if giving acupressure, was startled by my words and pulled his hand away. Then he stuttered like a broken robot. He’s really incredibly good-looking but I truly can’t understand why he acts so clumsily.
“No, that, I, I mean, I did that back then, so that’s,”
“Hajoon-ssi.”
“Yes, Ranho-ssi.”
“Do you need flowers? Is that why you came?”
To my question asking if he came because he needed flowers, he asked “What?” with a blank face before slowly nodding his head. He said flowers are always needed, trailing off his words before carefully making eye contact with me as if reading the situation.
“…If Ranho-ssi wraps them… if you do, I’ll take them, but if not…. If it’s difficult….”
“I went to the flower market today and bought more flowers than usual.”
Standing in front of the showcase, I surveyed the flowers. Since I brought a lot of rose varieties, I thought I should wrap them with roses and took out plenty of white astilbe. Then I took out Rain Dance, Abey, Dolce, Samantha, and 5th Avenue roses respectively and placed them on the table.
I was unconsciously moving my hands when Hajoon stood in front of the table, staring down at the roses intently.
“They’re roses. They’re all pretty, right? The shapes are a little different too.”
“…That’s right. They’re all pretty, pretty but….”
Hajoon trailed off.
“Ranho-ssi, today….”
Hajoon reached out and gently caressed the petals of the Samantha roses spread on the table, finally spitting out the words he’d been holding back.
“Ranho-ssi, did something happen today?”
“…What?”
“Why do the flowers… all look sad?”
Sad? The flowers, why… Flustered by a word that didn’t suit flowers, I muttered “that’s not it” and took off my sunglasses. The colors of the flowers I looked down at had a slightly gloomy tint. If I had looked at them separately, they would definitely have been beautiful flowers, but gathered together like this, they looked that way. Was I depressed today?
“…Ah….”
“It’s not that, I was just wondering if something happened to you, Ranho-ssi. The colors are all….”
“You’re right, the colors are all similar tones…. But nothing particular happened.”
I trimmed the stems of the roses that each held different shades of purple. After removing the leaves, I mixed a little of each type and held them together, inserting astilbe between the flowers.
“I had a bad dream. I don’t remember it well, but just… a somewhat terrible dream?”
“Ranho-ssi.”
“You know those dreams that leave you feeling icky even after you wake up? The kind that makes it hard to come to your senses. Do you know what I mean?”
“…I think I know.”
I could bet the flower shop that Hajoon absolutely doesn’t know that feeling. But I was touched that he was trying to empathize, so I pretended not to know and smiled faintly as I pulled out hemp string and tightly wrapped the stems.
“It’s kind of ridiculous that a dream would affect my mood like that, but I had to go look for flowers in a bad mood. Flowers for the bouquet reserved for tomorrow. It would have been good if I’d just gotten those.”
Hajoon nodded quietly while listening to my words that flowed out like a soliloquy. He concentrated as if not wanting to miss a single word, interjecting with responses like “Ah, I see,” and “Mm.” I spread out cream beige floral paper, wrapped the bouquet, and tied a white ribbon around the middle to complete it.
“After getting the flowers I’d ordered for the bouquet, even I think I bought… a bit too many flowers. Way too many. I don’t know what I was thinking when I bought them…. I think I said I wanted everything that caught my eye.”
“……”
“But even while buying them, I didn’t think they were similar. This was pretty, that was pretty, this was also pretty.”
“Ranho-ssi.”
Hajoon let out a sigh filled with pity while listening to my rambling words.
“I didn’t even realize they were similar while organizing them. I bought too many flowers so I just… thought of you, Hajoon-ssi. I thought I should make a lot of bouquets for Ban Hajoon-ssi. Something like that.”
“That worked out well then. That you thought of me even like that…. I think this is what they call reaping unexpected benefits.”
Hajoon’s lips curved softly as he received the bouquet I held out. I looked at the sunglasses placed neatly on the table, then turned my gaze toward the roses spread out on the table.
“I think it’s all because of the sunglasses. I only realized now that the colors are similar.”
When I laughed making a deflating sound, Hajoon looked at me with a worried face.
“You’ve been pretty busy lately, right? This place seems to have become famous. Reviews or something like that went around on SNS. Our cafe manager showed me. They said the owner here is pretty and the flowers are kind.”
“What?”
Wait, what did I just hear? The flowers are what? Even at my dumbfounded face, Hajoon continued speaking without concern.
“It’s all because Ranho-ssi makes bouquets too well, that’s what.”
A sigh escaped at his brazen words.
“Right. I’m unnecessarily too good at this.”
It left a bitter taste. Rather than my skill, isn’t it because you and a few others come too often? When I grumbled reproachfully, Hajoon smiled cheerfully, unaware of my feelings.
“If it’s okay with you, Ranho-ssi, I’ll buy all the roses you brought in today. Just make the bouquet tomorrow and rest well until Sunday. Don’t worry about the flowers wilting.”
Hajoon said this while tapping my hand. At that ticklish skinship, I unconsciously pulled my hand away and looked up to meet his eyes.
I’d been wanting to ask since last time. About that, that subtle uncomfortable feeling.
“Why do you treat me like this?”
“Like what?”
“No, like this… that, it’s strange, isn’t it?”
Acting like we’re having some kind of romantic tension.
I mixed roses and astilbe, tied the stems, and spread light pink floral paper long on the table. I placed the flowers with fixed stems on top and wrapped the bouquet so the wrapping paper wouldn’t wrinkle. Hajoon, who had been watching my actions, opened his mouth with a slightly incredulous expression.
“Why am I like this, you ask, Ranho-ssi. Of course, after what happened that day.”
“What happened that day?”
“That day I did to Ranho-ssi.”
“To me?”
“That… that back.”
Hajoon’s face turned red as if it might explode at any moment. What’s with my back that makes you blush like that?
“My back got twisted that day because Hajoon-ssi was too drunk and it got twisted while you were supporting me. Even if it’s because of that, it’s too… too strange, isn’t it? It’s just a little twisted, what’s the big deal that you’re acting like this—”
At my rapidly spat out words, Hajoon reached out and covered my mouth.
“Mmph?”
“Twisted?”
His face, which had become even redder than before, really looked like it might explode. At his urgent question, I nodded. He opened his mouth wide in a circle, repeatedly opening and closing it before shutting it completely. All while still covering my mouth with his hand. Before I could even feel the softness of his palm, I was flustered looking at him, then pushed away the hand covering my mouth and rubbed my lips with the back of my hand.
“Pfft, Ban Hajoon-ssi?”
Hajoon looked back and forth between my face and waist with half-dazed eyes.
“Hajoon-ssi? Are you okay?”
He let out a deep sigh with eyes shaking like a candle flame in the wind, then took a long time before finally spitting out his answer.
“…I’m not okay…. I think I might die of embarrassment right now.”
“What?”
“I… I thought that day we….”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
